Luke Voit saluted his Kansas City fan club with the longest homer of his career
The last year has been a wild ride for Luke Voit. He's gone from an occasional fill-in for the Cardinals to the Yankees' starting first baseman, and only Gary Sanchez has hit more homers for the team in 2019 than Voit.
So, Voit's homecoming to his native Missouri on Saturday afternoon was eagerly anticipated. Sixty friends and family members awaited him on the Kauffman Stadium patio as he prepared to face the Royals in the first game of a doubleheader. They had a banner and everything!
In fitting fashion, Voit rewarded his fan club by launching a seventh-inning pitch from Scott Barlow beyond the fountains in left-center field, 470 feet away. It was the longest homer of his career, and it put the Yankees up by two, as they went on to win, 7-3..
"It was pretty cool for family and friends, guys I played with in college to come here." said Voit. "To hit probably the farthest home run I've ever hit in front of them was pretty surreal. I was on cloud nine in that at-bat.”
It was such a big moment for Voit that he forgot to do his trademark hop, but it was still a top-notch way to honor the people who have been by his side throughout his journey, from the struggles in Triple-A to thrills with the Yankees.
Good on you, Luke.
Andrew Mearns is a writer for Cut4 whose baseball obsession was born from the shattered dreams of Mike Mussina's perfect game attempt in 2001. He has a startling memory of World Series highlights that barely functions as a party trick.
